ISSUE BRIEF: Endangered Species Act Reform - Species Recovery
Reform ESA to focus on actually recovering species!
The Issue:
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted more than 30 years ago with the best of intentions. Its original goal: to save species in danger of becoming extinct. Americans overwhelmingly support the protection of endangered and threatened species. But we also believe that the goal should be to save more species – not to simply add more names to a list. We want to help species recover so they can actually come off the Endangered Species List.
ESA has been a failure, when it comes to actually recovering species. The Act needs to be reformed to place greater emphasis on recovery actions over bureaucratic listing actions. It must encourage the use of innovative approaches to increase species' populations. This can be done, in part, by moving the designation of critical habitat into the development of species recovery planning.
Strengthening the Act also must include improving the quality of science used to make policy decisions. This will enable the effective use of federal monies and time in restoring species populations truly in need.
The final key to improving recovery rates is working in cooperation with conservation organizations and private landowners. By providing the tools necessary to enable private landowners and States to be partners in achieving the goals of the Act, the recovery of species will improve.
Impacts on the West:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the lead federal agency responsible for this program, estimates the annual cost in federal funds for the operation of ESA is between 1989 and 2000 to be over $3.5 billion. When federal, State and private costs are all added up the full cost may be ten times higher. Most of the costs are born by the private sector, and these costs do not add to their bottom line or their ability to keep the critical private lands in management for the species we want to recover.
Solutions:
- Take 60 seconds to tell Congress to pass legislation to reform the ESA to focus more on recovery of listed species versus just listing them and "letting nature take its course."
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